Daily wagers eligible under regularization policy entitled to parity with others despite delays from interim stays in separate cases; notional benefits from parity date, actual monetary from petition filing.

JUDGMENT :

RANJAN SHARMA, J.

1. Petitioner, Ramesh Kumar Thakur, a Junior Engineer, had initially filed CWP No.3342 of 2012 before this Court and on establishment of State Administrative Tribunal, the matter was transferred to the said Tribunal; and now upon its abolition, the same stands re-transferred to this Court, as CWPOA No.4065 of 2019, seeking the following relief:-

“11(i) That the respondent No.1 may kindly be directed to regularize the services of the petitioner from the date when he completes Eight years of service as daily wager with all consequential benefits.”

FACTUAL MATRIX:

2. Case set up by Learned Counsel, is that being eligible for the post of Junior Engineer, the petitioner was engaged as Junior Engineer on daily wage basis in the Respondent-HIMURJA on 01.06.1995. He continued in service and completed 10 years of continuous service with 240 days in each year as on 31.12.2005. It is averred that the State Government issued a Regularization Policy on 09.06.2006 providing for regularization of daily wagers from the date of completion of 8 years of continuous service subject to vacancy. It is averred that in terms of Policy dated 09.06.2006 other daily wagers namely, Gopal Dass and Raj Kumar, were regularized on 31.07.2006 [Annexure P-3 (colly)], whereas, the petitioner was made to work as daily waged Junior Engineer till his regularization, on 20.12.2008 [Annexure P-7] with immediate effect:

(i). Feeling aggrieved against the belated regularization on 20.12.2008 [Annexure P-7], the petitioner submitted a representation on 18.08.2009 [Annexure P-9], with a request to re-consider the case of petitioner for regularization from the date of completion of 8 years of service or alternately from the date the other daily wagers in other cadres under the Respondent-HIMURJA were considered in terms of the Policy dated 09.06.2006 [Annexure P-10], issued by the Government which was adopted by Respondent-HIMURJA, with all consequential benefits.

STAND OF RESPONDENT-HIMURJA IN REPLY- AFFIDAVIT:

3. Pursuant to issuance of notice by this Court on 15.05.2012, Respondent-HIMURJA filed a Reply-Affidavit dated 05.07.2012 of Chief Executive Officer, HIMURJA, Shimla:

(i). Reply-Affidavit indicates that petitioner was engaged as daily wager Junior Engineer in June 1995 and he continued in service as such. It is averred that the meeting of Executive of Respondent- HIMURJA was held on 05.06.2004, Annexure R-1, deciding to forward a proposal to the Government for granting regularization to the daily waged and contractual Junior Engineers. Reply-Affidavit indicates that the Department of Personnel, Government of Himachal Pradesh issued a communication dated 09.06.2006, providing for regularization of daily wagers/contingent paid workers upon completion of 8 years of continuous service, subject to availability of vacancy and fulfilment of other conditions, as contained in the said Policy.

(ii). Reply-Affidavit states that some of the contractual Junior Engineers, had filed an Original Application No.1053 of 2006 and another Original Application No.2031 of 2006, wherein, State Administrative Tribunal passed an interim order not to regularize the services of daily wage Junior Engineers in terms of Policy dated 09.06.2006 but these Original Applications were withdrawn on 24.11.2008 and thereafter the case of petitioner was processed for regularization and the benefit of regularization was a